summer research

[DOapplicant]

i'm a first year and hear mixed things on the importance of doing research b/n 1st and 2nd yr.

if you do rsrch and then apply for residency in a diff field (possiblity for me since i don't know what i want to go into yet) will the research still help me?
do you need to get published for it to make a difference?

does anyone feel if it's really good to just rsrch or is it just a waste of time?

eager to hear your opinions.
thanks.

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[SolidGold]

I've heard from students that it does not help much, but a surgeon that I interviewed with told me that doing research and getting published is a bonus, especially with the more competitive residencies, so I'm more inclined to believe him. I'm doing it over this summer because it looks like I have a good chance of getting a couple of things published based on the projects I can work on. We get paid too, so that's a bonus.

 

[HiddenTruth]

i'm a first year and hear mixed things on the importance of doing research b/n 1st and 2nd yr.

if you do rsrch and then apply for residency in a diff field (possiblity for me since i don't know what i want to go into yet) will the research still help me?

Dear OP-

Research is a unique experience that can take you miles further than the typical medical student. I see that you are in osteopathic school. As you may or may not know, most osteopaths will consider applying into MD residencies. It is extremely competetive for you to compete with the allopaths allready applying into those residencies. I think research is very important for you IF YOU WISH TO SEEK A COMPETITIVE RESIDENCY. Those are my key words. If you want to become an internist or FP at podunkville, USA--no, you don't need research. The purpose of research is to see how efficient you are--that you are able to carry out some significant project while still carrying out a huge load of medical school work--ppl like to see that. You don't have to do research in the field you will supposedly go in--because everyone knows that as an MS1 and MS2, you don't really know what you want to pursue. As I stated earlier, the purpose of research primarily is to see that you are a person who can multitask, be efficient, and carry out the tasks of rigerous medical school workload simultaneously. Now, say in year 3 or 4 you decide you want to do orthopedic surgery, and it being one of the most competetive fields in medicine at this time, it may be wise for you to jump into some sort of ortho research to further enhance your app. Those orthopods want to also see that you have an interest in their field, that you have taken signifcant time out and done research in that particular area. So, in short, your research does not have to be in something you will end up doing--however, it can only help you more if it is. It's not worth any less if it isn't a field that you may go into.

do you need to get published for it to make a difference?

If you work on a significant project for a good length of time, more than likely you will get published. It may be a podunk journal, but you should be able to get published and yes that makes a difference. You should do research that is worthy of being published, otherwise, 1)it wasn't that significant and 2) you didn't spend enough time on it to be carried on to where it is publishable. Now, some very significant research gets published in high tier journals (Nature)--and ofcourse that makes a difference. Just like when you tell someone you are comming from harvard medical school vs. podunkville med school (sorry i know i am abusing that term, but that is my way of expressing impt vs. not so impt), people are in awe when they hear something that is well known and respected, and on the same note, if you had research that was worthy enough of being published in e.g Nature, then it is some significant research--cuz those journals don't just publish your 2 month of hoe work that you did while you were jackin' around.

does anyone feel if it's really good to just rsrch or is it just a waste of time?

Like I stated earlier, if you feel that you will be a competitive cadidate among osteopathic residencies, and especially if applying into allopathic residencies, then i think it is extremely impt that you get yourself into some kind of research project, Like I said, doing research CAN ONLY HELP YOU! It will never ever go against you--now if you try it and you think it's a waste of time, then that is your personal preference. You may want to enjoy that summer off on the beach. Research does not mean you will not get into a residency or that you having research under your belt will get you into a competetive residency, it means that it sets you apart and it makes you a better candidate for any position.

eager to hear your opinions.

I hope this helps. Feel free to comment.

thanks
You're quite welcome.

 

[DOapplicant]

really helpful reply- thank you!

do you know if it's easy to get a research position at another med school?
we have a VERY large class and not that many positions

thanks again

 

[HiddenTruth]

Yes you can do research at other institutes. Obviously, if you are planning on doing it this summer, your odds are shot--because you're simply too late, and all the labs are full.

What I would reccommend is that you get on top of some specific research programs that are designed for ANY U.S LCME accredited medical student, like yourself. Those are usually paid and designed by NIH (so well respected research) and you get a good salary for the summer. Various institutes across the country will have those--you just need to keep an eye on them. I would jump on google or SDN in jan or so and search for them (summer research projects for medical students) and you will find many results. Infact NIH itself, in Bethesda has a 2 month opputunity for medical students. The thing is that you might want to get involved with some little stuff at your school in the mean time, just to show that you do have some experience, and that you are interested in it. Not to say that experience is a requirement, but when you say, hey man i wanna apply to this program, and I'm interested in it because ive already done some little research and I want to deepen my horizons and get some good experience, obviously as you can see, it can make a difference. And it is not so impt for these 2 month fellowships, as it is for a the one year fellowhips, because in that care you are taking a year off, and they want to know that you are REALLY interested in it (based on some previous experience obviously--no other way to qualify it) that you are willing to take a year off. So if you can get your feet wet by asking some mentors at your institute, I would jump on that--a lot of them are receptive to letting you come in on your schedule, and work around your academics. By having that experience, you not only have made a connection, because even those summer research experiences will require LOR's (letter of reccomendations), but you have allowed yourself to see if this is something that you even like doing. Cuz one thing I gotta tell ya, research isn't for everyone, and you can do a couple months of it just for the hell of it to put on your CV--but just like anything else, do something that you WANT to do, do it for the right reasons--it goes a long way, and people can definately tell when your heart is in something. Cool--hope this was some what informative--good luck, you will succeed. Take care

 

[docmemi]

is there no time to get involved in research DURING M1??

 

[box29]

I too will be going to TUCOM-NV. I had worked as a research tech at the University of CHicago in Psychiatric genetics and we had a publication in 2001 in Genomics. We also has several poster presentations. I then worked as a research assistant at Evanston Northwestern in pediatrics in 2001-2002 and had a poster presentation at an SPR conference, but no publication.

I was wondering if I could include these in my CV even though they were done a while ago. I plan to do research while in school because I do like it but was wondering what your opinions are. Thank you.